The Bible's Weird Worldview

We all dream, but most of the time we forget our dreams as soon as the day begins.  Isaac Watts' hymn "O God, Our Help In Ages Past" describes it well.

Time, like an ever-rolling stream,
Soon bears us all away;
We fly forgotten as a dream
Dies at the op'ning day. 

There are, however, some dreams that keep coming back. We all know of them. In one of my recurring dreams I have left my college classes for the day and want to go home. However, to do that I must find my car. But I have no idea where I left it. It has to be somewhere around, but I cannot find it. The buildings are unfamiliar. The streets lead to places I've never seen before. And on top of that I don't even remember what kind of car I was driving. It is all very frightening and confusing until I awaken and realize it was just a dream.

Just a dream? I wonder. What does it mean? Is there a meaning to my dreams? And what about the people or creatures I encounter in those dreams?

Forget it, says our modern world. "Dreams represent a world of imagery in which our darkest fears, deepest secrets, and most passionate fantasies break out from the unconscious mind and only at this time become present to our own consciousness." 

Dreams certainly cannot amount to any encounter with a reality, a spirit world if you will, beyond that which I experience with my senses while I am awake. That cannot be, because there is no such world. The only reality is that which we can measure and approach through our rational minds. Yes, we humans have an unconscious mind, but it is still my mind. It is not my spirit or soul encountering another world beyond what we can see, feel, taste, touch and smell.

Or at least so it seems while we are awake. But then I read, for instance, this strange passage—one among many in the Bible—about the birth of Jesus.

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus. - Mat 1:18-25 ESV

"An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream . . ." What's this Angel? Messenger? In a dream? Prophets foretelling events 600 years before they happen? The Lord speaking? And then Joseph waking up and making a dramatic decision to go ahead with the marriage and take Mary into his home—in spite of the fact that she was carrying a baby that was not his! "For that which is conceived in her is from the (what?) Holy Spirit." What could that possibly mean? Virgin birth? Now you're really pushing things. And Joseph knew nothing about three persons and yet one God. God with us? In a baby? What could that possibly mean? And yet—and yet—he "did as the angel of the Lord commanded . . ." Weird or at best strange that a man would make such a momentous decision on the basis of a dream.

Oh boy, now this 21st century Christian is in trouble, because he has just encountered a way of thinking—or is it a reality?—quite different from the one dominating our culture. Does God send messages from the other side? Are there really angelic messengers? Do prophets really see into a future guided by the hand of God? And what about my dreams? Do angels—or demons for that matter—really come to me or at me when I'm dreaming? Should I be afraid or should I expect it? And how will I know for certain that it is not merely some of my "darkest fears, deepest secrets, and most passionate fantasies" breaking out from my unconscious mind to present themselves in the form of images and stories to my consciousness?

I think we need to spend some time pondering just how very different the Bible's worldview is from that dominating our 21st century scientific, rational world. Stay with me. We'll give it a shot in the next several postings.

What Does Happen After Death?

Many times I've had children, grandchildren and spouses tell me how much they miss their loved ones. If only they had a way to talk with them, learn from them, hear that everything is OK, discuss today's problems, etc. Those whose faith is not grounded in God's revelation can become quite vulnerable to charlatans claiming to assist them to get in touch with these deceased loved ones. That's why it is not unusual to read about so-called psychics taking advantage of this vulnerability. One such report surfaced last week.

Psychic Accused of Exploitation : Discovery News: A young woman told a jury today how a psychic tricked her into performing “like a porn star” in the hope of getting in touch with her dead grandfather.

Spiritualism is a many and varied belief system. Its hard to call it a religion. Essentially the idea behind it is that when one dies he moves on to some kind of spirit world. In that after-life world the deceased long to communicate with the living, but find it difficult to do so. For unexplained reasons the living cannot hear them. So they need a medium, someone gifted somehow with the ability to get in touch with the dead and tell the living what they are saying.

The entertainment business loves to tap into this phenomenon. Top among recent movies was Ghost (1990), starring the now deceased Patrick Swayze—who obviously has not returned from the dead. Swayze's character is Sam. Sam and Molly (Demi Moore) are a very happy couple and deeply in love. Walking back to their new apartment after a night out at the theatre, they encounter a thief in a dark alley, and Sam is murdered. He finds himself trapped as a ghost and realises that his death was no accident. He must warn Molly about the danger that she is in. But as a ghost he can not be seen or heard by the living, and so he tries to communicate with Molly through Oda Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg), a psychic who didn't even realise that her powers were real. Up to this point she had been busily bamboozling people who wanted to communicate with the dead. After Oda Mae finally does tell Molly what's going on via Sam the ghost, Sam is free to whoosh on up to heaven—or something like that.

Ghost brought Paramount Pictures a gross income worldwide of $507,600,000. The movie won a Best Original Screenplay Oscar. Whoopi won a Supporting Actress Oscar as the fake medium. Not bad for all concerned.

Another bit of craziness in this after-life arena was Robin Williams' starring role in What Dreams May Come (1998). Talk about a syrupy plot. Chris Neilson (Robins' character) and his children die in a car crash. He finds heaven to be more amazing than he could ever have imagined. However, his wife is missing. Annie (Annabella Sciorra), in her grief commits suicide and ends up in hell. Chris discovers a way to visit Annie in hell and in love decides to stay there with her forever. However, the powers from on high are so moved by Chris's sacrifice that the both of them do indeed end up in heaven. Perhaps now they can be reborn on earth and live their lives together.

What Dreams May Come grossed $55,000,000 in the USA and $16,000,000 worldwide the year it was released. It continues to make money through rentals.

You get the picture. Pun intended. Tomorrow I want to take a sober look at this stuff by way of God's revelation in Holy Scripture.